UH's Leone, Rice's Boswell hope for NFL draft consideration

Houston kicker Richie Leone gave his legs a workout, handling punts, kickoffs and field goals for the Cougars for most of last season.

Houston kicker Richie Leone gave his legs a workout, handling punts, kickoffs and field goals for the Cougars for most of last season.

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Staff

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Rice's Chris Boswell, performing at the school's pro day at Rice Stadium, had 65 field goals, including 13 of at least 50 yards.

Rice's Chris Boswell, performing at the school's pro day at Rice Stadium, had 65 field goals, including 13 of at least 50 yards.

Photo: J. Patric Schneider, Freelance

UH's Leone, Rice's Boswell hope for NFL draft consideration

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Call it an occupational drawback, but specialists are not a high priority during the NFL draft.

So while the first two days of the draft get the most attention, Rice kicker Chris Boswell and University of Houston punter Richie Leone - rated among the top specialists - will pay attention when rounds four through seven are held May 10.

Boswell, a senior, is rated the No. 1 kicker in the draft, with a fifth- or sixth-round projection, according to NFLDraftScout.com and DraftCountdown.com. The same websites have Leone as the fifth-best punting prospect and going in the seventh round or signing as an undrafted free agent.

Private workout

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Leone, an All-American his senior season at UH, has a private workout scheduled Friday "that could translate into something."

"I've been hearing some good stuff," Leone said. "There's not a whole lot of teams in the market right now. There aren't a lot of needs, but there are a few."

Despite the impact kickers and punters can have, only a handful are drafted every year - and almost always in the late rounds.

On average, two kickers and two punters have been drafted each year since 1994, when the NFL went to its current seven-round format. Of the 73 kickers and punters selected during that span, 53 percent were picked in the sixth or seventh rounds. Two kickers and two punters were selected in the draft last year, and a combined six went in 2012. None were taken in 1996 or 1998.

Free-agent route

Most of the time, teams avoid using a draft pick and instead think they can sign accurate kickers and punters as free agents. Going undrafted doesn't necessarily mean a prospect won't have success, the best example being kicker Adam Vinatieri, who won three Super Bowl rings with the Patriots and another with the Colts.

Boswell is considered to have one of the strongest legs in the draft, with 13 career field goals of at least 50 yards. At Rice, Boswell finished with 65 field goals and was second all-time with 359 points.

Leone hopes to parlay his versatility - he handled punts, kickoffs and field goals for most of last season - into a look by NFL teams. He averaged 43.2 yards on punts, and nearly 50 percent of his kickoffs resulted in touchbacks.

"You're always looking for an edge," Leone said. "If you can do more than one thing, like punting and kickoffs, it just makes you more valuable."

Temper expectations

Leone received advice from two-time Ray Guy Award winner Ryan Allen, who went undrafted last year but eventually won the Patriots' punting job in camp.

"Have zero expectations about the draft," Leone said.

Rice's Phillip Gaines' stock has been rising since the NFL combine, where he had the second-fastest 40-yard dash time among cornerbacks at 4.38 seconds. Gaines is being projected anywhere from the second to the fifth round.